


They Grow Up So Fast

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: The Hamilton Family Album [54]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Drama, F/M, Feels, Gen, Growing Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-05-13 20:19:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14755649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: Eliza never thought it would be this hard to go through these things.





	They Grow Up So Fast

It was time. To be perfectly honest, Eliza had been putting this off for far longer than she should have. None of the kids had any use of these items for years, and it was not like she was able to have any more even if she wanted to.  
Which, of course, had been what gave her pause in the first place. No more. It had taken some time to wrap her mind around and while she was happy with the children she had and she loved every single one of them and, honestly, she didn’t want any more kids. But it would’ve been nice to have the chance to choose that for herself. 

That was what had hurt so much, even a few years later as she pulled down the boxes from the attic and the garage. And so she fortified herself with tea in the largest mug they had, a father’s day gift for Alex several years back, and sat on the living room floor with her boxes. 

"Here we go," Eliza sighed, she hesitated for a moment before finally bringing herself to pull off the lid of the first box.

Toddler clothes, dolls, train sets. Things that every child had gotten use of at some point in their younger years, that had been collecting dust now. Some items significantly older than others, memories of years long since past. She was putting things aside, refolding tiny pairs of shorts and shirts with pattern or funny sayings. Every one had a story to it, with every item she could remember when Philip wore it or Jamie or Jack. She’d even found a pair of small, white Mary Janes that had once belonged to Angie. Setting them aside Eliza found herself needing to pause for just a moment.

Eliza took in a shuddering breath, closing her eyes against the prickling heat of threatening tears. She regretted bringing in all these boxes now, not feeling like should continue, as well as being unsure if she could put them away again. She tried to soldier on for a little longer, but that’s when she found it. It was well taken care of but obviously worn, a newborn size onesie that had once been bright yellow but was now more pastel. Every single one of her seven children had worn this onesie on their first day home from the hospital.

Except for one. Eliza clutched it to her chest remembering the horrible day when it had all gone wrong. She was so scared and in so much pain that the onesie and anything else she normally would have had in the hospital was forgotten and left behind.

She didn’t even realize that Alex was home until she felt his hand on her shoulder.

“Betsey?” his voice was soft, the worry etched clearly on his face.

There were so many things that she wanted to say, but the only thing that came out were a fresh set of tears rolling down her cheeks. 

“Hey,” Alex said soothingly, kneeling beside her and drawing her into a hug, the yellow onesie squeezed between them.

Eliza felt herself relax slightly in his embrace. “This is harder than I thought it would be,” she admitted.

“You shouldn’t do it by yourself,” Alex said, “Too many memories.”

“Yeah,” Eliza nodded.

“Well I can help,” Alex settled himself on the ground beside her.

“What about work?” Eliza asked. 

“I’m sure Conrad will understand.”

 

Eliza let out a deep sigh, “Thank you.”


End file.
